Victor Bernardez is the top defender in the MLS, according to ESPN analyst and National Soccer Hall of Famer Alexi Lalas.

Photo: Otto Greule Jr, Getty Images

Victor Bernardez is the top defender in the MLS, according to ESPN...

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San Jose's Victor Bernardez leaps to volley the ball as the Galaxy's Landon Donovan pursues in Sunday's Quakes win.

Photo: Victor Decolongon, Getty Images

San Jose's Victor Bernardez leaps to volley the ball as the...

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SEATTLE, WA - SEPTEMBER 22: Victor Bernardez #26 of the San Jose Earthquakes battles Fredy Montero #17 of the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field on September 22, 2012 in Seattle, Washington. (Photo by Otto Greule Jr/Getty Images)

Tip-toeing to the ball like Fred Flintstone, Victor Bernardez looks a little comical on his approach to a free kick. When he strikes the ball, the amusement stops. If Secretariat could have kicked a ball, this is what it would sound like.

The 30-year-old Honduran defender boomed a long free kick so hard Sunday, the Galaxy tightened. Omar Gonzalez jumped up as part of the wall of defenders but deflected the ball underneath himself, and goalkeeper Josh Saunders couldn't control it.

The goal in the 94th minute, only the third goal of the season for Bernardez, gave the Earthquakes a 1-0 win in the first leg of the MLS Western Conference semifinals. The second leg is Wednesday night at Buck Shaw Stadium.

With a win or a tie, San Jose will advance to the conference final. If the match ends even in aggregate, there will be a 30-minute overtime. If it's still tied, there will be a shootout.

Bernardez is a 6-foot-2, 190-pound tough guy who habitually takes the air out of opposing attacks. Coach Frank Yallop thinks he should be the league's defender of the year.

"Victor has been immense for us as a character, immense as a player," Yallop said. "No matter what happens in games, he keeps soldiering on. He's got tons of experience. He's played in the World Cup."

In Sunday's game, Yallop said, Bernardez "blossomed." Gathering balls in the box, he calmly booted them out. "There's no nerves at all with him," Yallop said. "I'm shouting, 'Get rid of it,' a couple of times. He's very calm."

ESPN analyst Alexi Lalas said during the telecast that Bernardez would get his vote as the league's top defender. "A lot of the attacking movement comes from him on the ball, not just long balls but precise balls," he said. "For a big man like that, you don't see it a lot."

Certainly you don't see a big man tip-toeing to the ball on a free kick. Yallop calls it the longest approach he's ever seen. "That's my style," Bernardez said through an interpreter. "That's the way I've always done it."

He said he didn't hit it the way he wanted to. "When I line up a free kick, I always want to shoot toward their heads. I didn't hit it the best. It went low. I wasn't surprised (Gonzalez) jumped. I think he thought I was going to hit it higher."

Was it lucky? "Luck doesn't exist if God's on your side. He sends me some good wishes, and it goes through." He felt the same way when L.A.'s Robbie Keane blasted a shot off the crossbar late in the match. "We were blessed by God on that one," he said.

The good wishes have been coming in bunches for Bernardez. He and his wife, Wendy Salgado, a former Miss Honduras, have a year-old daughter, and, after three years with Belgian powerhouse Anderlecht, he has found a home in San Jose in his first full season with the Quakes.

Sizing up the duel with the Galaxy, he said, "They have a lot of stars. We have a lot of workers. ... We're a very humble group. We have one of the greatest scorers in the history of the league (Chris Wondolowski), and he feels like a worker, not a star."